Vegetarian by tradition
Greece is a wonderful destination for vegetarians. Even in the deepest inlands and farthest corners of the country, restaurants usually have vegetarian dishes on the menu. The striking thing is that restaurants do not do this to appeal to vegetarians; they don’t really care. The vegetarian dishes that are served are traditional recipes from Greek cuisine. They were already on the menu before the phenomena of mass tourism and vegetarians made their entrance. And the dishes are still served with pride.
Gemista
Stuffed vegetables from the oven are a flashback to the 1980s, when the dish was hip in my home country the Netherlands. The vegetables are usually tomatoes or peppers, but it can also be aubergines. The vegetables are stuffed with a spicy, juicy rice. Restaurants serve chips or potatoes with the stuffed vegetables, making it a nutritious meal.
Note that there can be minced meat in the filling of the gemista. This is not always clearly stated on the menu. Fortunately, the question whether something is ‘vegetarian’ is understood in all places and the service is helpful in pointing out vegetarian options.
The photos are from restaurant Ionos in Athens. The food there is delicious and you want to stay forever on the atmospheric terrace.
Vegetarian moussaka
Moussaka is of course a classic of Greek cuisine. But I haven’t actually come across vegetarian moussaka anywhere on the menu. Nor is it on the menu of restaurant Klepsydra in Athens. However, we are tipped off that Klepsydra has good vegetarian moussaka and ask a waiter. And yes, the vegetarian moussaka can just be ordered.
Klepsydra restaurant is located in the narrow streets of the Plaka district. The scarce space is used creatively with tables on steps and on sloping ramps. Luckily, our table is reasonably comfortable on a flat surface.
Imam bayildi
Imam bayildi is stuffed aubergine from the oven. The filling is a tasty tomato stew, making it different from the rice in gemista. Optionally, cheese goes on top of the stuffed aubergine. The imam bayildi that I eat at Aegean restaurant in Olympia is richly covered with feta. A little too much, for my taste.
Briam
Super easy and super tasty. It is simply vegetables roasted in the oven. But a good dose of olive oil and garlic makes it rich in flavour. Despite the potatoes in the vegetable mix, briam is not heavy. After the briam at O Aetos restaurant in Pylos, I still have room for dessert. Not at the restaurant, but a little further down the street at the far too tempting Krinos bakery.
Small dishes
We never missed an opportunity to eat tzatziki. Sometimes twice a day, as part of lunch and as an appetiser with dinner. Always with a portion of bread, to dip in the tzatziki. Divine, how thick and creamy the yoghurt of the tzatziki is here in Greece.
Another favourite at lunch are deep-fried courgette balls or tomato balls, in Greek kolokithokeftedes and tomatokeftedes. These too are served with tzatziki for dipping. It is a kind of snack, but freshly prepared and fairly healthy.
A Greek salad, choriatiki, is also available in all restaurants. In Greece, the raw vegetables are cut coarser than what we are used to in the Netherlands. And the feta is a huge uncut block on top of the salad.
The lunch on the photo is at Tefthis Taverna in Dimitsána, on a terrace with a magnificent view of the surroundings.
Italian restaurants
Italian restaurants can be found all over Greece. They are the obvious alternative when you want to eat something other than Greek cuisine. However, the two vegetarian pizzas I ate in Greece were not my cup of tea. A thick and rather hard dough crust, a cheesy filling and so mighty that you can barely finish half of it.
Greek recipes
Got a craving for Greek vegetarian food, but not going to Greece just yet? The website My Greek Dish has good traditional recipes for cooking your own Greek food. All dishes from this blog post can be found there, and lots more.
